The invention relates generally to ground working equipment, such as agricultural equipment, and more specifically, to a storage tank sump arrangement for an agricultural implement.
Generally, fertilizer application implements are towed behind a tractor or other work vehicle via a hitch assembly secured to a rigid frame of the implement. These fertilizer application implements typically include one or more ground engaging tools or openers that form a path for fertilizer deposition into the soil. The openers are used to break the soil, thereby enabling injection nozzles (e.g., positioned behind the openers) to deposit fertilizer at a desired depth beneath the soil surface. In certain embodiments, the implement may include knives (e.g., positioned behind the openers), instead of the injection nozzles, to flow the liquid fertilizer into respective trenches formed by the openers and the knives. Using such implements, fertilizer may be distributed throughout a field, either before or after planting, to facilitate enhanced crop development.
A fertilizer application implement may include a storage tank to house a flowable agricultural product for distribution throughout a field. Further, the storage tank may include a sump portion that is located vertically lower than other portions of the storage tank so that as the flowable agricultural product empties out of the storage tank, the flowable agricultural product is directed toward the sump portion. In certain applications, the fertilizer application implement may travel over a field having an upward slope and/or a downward slope. During such applications, the flowable agricultural product may be directed away from the sump portion due to gravitational force. Unfortunately, the gravitational force directing the flowable agricultural product away from the sump portion may make it difficult to pump the flowable agricultural product out of the storage tank while the fertilizer application implement is travelling over the upward slope and/or the downward slope, thereby interrupting the flow of the flowable agricultural product out of the storage tank.